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Lem WG, Kawata KHDS, Oyama H. Exploring the impact of immersive virtual reality on depression knowledge and stigma reduction: a cross-over RCT fMRI study. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5193. [PMID: 38431655 PMCID: PMC10908822 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55797-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The stigma of mental illness is a form of negative judgmental knowledge and is a barrier to individual seeking treatment. Contact-based educational interventions with first-person perspective (1PP) combined with immersive virtual reality (IVR) is promising as an anti-stigma intervention. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of 1PP anti-stigma IVR intervention compared to video in enhancing depression knowledge and reducing stigma, as well as to examine the corresponding depression knowledge brain activity change using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants engaged in a 1PP anti-stigma intervention using both IVR and conventional video, focusing on the daily life and recovery of a patient with mild depression. The change in depression knowledge, stigma-related behavioral, and brain activity using fMRI were measured at pre- and post-interventions. Depression knowledge improved for both interventions; however, only the IVR intervention reduced stigma. In the IVR intervention, depression knowledge score was positively associated with neural response in the right superior frontal gyrus activation, indicative of empathic concern. Conversely, the video intervention correlated with increased activity in the right anterior insula, suggesting a distress-related response. The findings demonstrate that the immersive nature of IVR can reduce stigma more effectively than video intervention. This effectiveness is underpinned by the change in depression knowledge on neural activity, with IVR fostering empathy-related behavioral responses. The results highlight the potential of IVR in enhancing empathic understanding and reducing stigma towards mental illness, emphasizing the need for further exploration into immersive technologies for mental health education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wey Guan Lem
- Department of Clinical Information Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Kelssy Hitomi Dos Santos Kawata
- Department of Clinical Information Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Hiroshi Oyama
- Department of Clinical Information Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
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2
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Wagner-Altendorf TA, van der Lugt AH, Kroeber A, Cirkel A, Heldmann M, Münte TF. Differences in Implicit Attitudes in West and East Germans as Measured by the Go/NoGo Association Task and Event-related EEG Potentials. Cogn Behav Neurol 2023; 36:145-158. [PMID: 36961321 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Implicit social cognition refers to attitudes and stereotypes that may reside outside conscious awareness and control but that still affect human behavior. In particular, the implicit favoritism of an ingroup, to which an individual belongs, as opposed to an outgroup, to which the individual does not belong, characterized as ingroup bias, is of interest and is investigated here. METHOD We used a Go/NoGo association task (GNAT) and behavioral and electroencephalographic (event-related EEG potential [ERP] analysis) measures to investigate the implicit bias toward cities in East Germany, West Germany, and Europe, in 16 individuals each from West and East Germany (mixed gender, M age = 24). The GNAT assesses an individual's Go and NoGo responses for a given association between a target category and either pole (positive or negative) of an evaluative dimension. RESULTS Behavioral measures revealed slightly faster reaction times to the combination of European city names and negative, as compared with positive, evaluative words in both groups. ERP analysis showed an increased negativity at 400-800 ms poststimulus in the incongruent conditions of East German city/positive word pairings (in West Germans) and West German city/positive word pairings (in East Germans). CONCLUSION An implicitly moderately negative evaluation of Europe by both groups was exhibited based on the behavioral data, and an increased level of conflict arising from the "incongruent" pairings (ie, as manifestation of an implicitly negative attitude toward East Germany in West Germans, and toward West Germany in East Germans) was exhibited based on the electrophysiological data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias A Wagner-Altendorf
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Arie H van der Lugt
- Section Teaching & Innovation of Learning, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Anna Kroeber
- Department of Neuropsychology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anna Cirkel
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Marcus Heldmann
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Institute of Psychology II, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Thomas F Münte
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Institute of Psychology II, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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3
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Montgomery C, Atkinson A, Jones A, Sumnall H. Little Evidence for the Role of Disgust Sensitivity in Implicit Disgust to Images of White People Engaged in Injecting Drug Use (IDU). Subst Use Misuse 2023; 58:1722-1733. [PMID: 37602746 DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2023.2247054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Background: Previous research has shown that People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) are subject to public stigma, which affects access to, and provision and quality of, treatment and support services. Less is known about the socio-cognitive processes that support the development and maintenance of public stigma toward PWID. The present study investigated the role of disgust sensitivity in implicit disgust to injecting drug use. Methods: 126 participants took part in an online Implicit Association Task (IAT) measuring implicit disgust to pictorial stimuli of injecting drug use or medical injecting. Participants also completed The Disgust Scale Revised, Injecting Phobia Scale (Short Form), Attitudes to People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) scale and a substance use inventory. Results: Average IAT score was negative indicating significantly higher implicit disgust to injecting drug use. Hierarchical linear regression found that injecting phobia predicted implicit disgust to injecting drug use. Questionnaire measures of disgust did not predict implicit disgust. While animal reminder disgust and injecting phobia were significantly correlated with each other, animal reminder disgust did not predict implicit disgust scores. Conclusions: On the basis of our findings, stigma toward PWID may not be a result of feelings of disgust toward injecting drug use. We discuss findings in the context of the underlying cortical processes supporting implicit and explicit representations of disgust. Future research should seek to investigate neurophysiological evidence for disgust to and stigmatization of injecting drug use and the potential role of domains of disgust in this.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amanda Atkinson
- Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Andrew Jones
- Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Harry Sumnall
- Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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4
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Rösler IK, Amodio DM. Neural Basis of Prejudice and Prejudice Reduction. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 7:1200-1208. [PMID: 36402739 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Social prejudices, based on race, ethnicity, gender, or other identities, pervade how we perceive, think about, and act toward others. Research on the neural basis of prejudice seeks to illuminate its effects by investigating the neurocognitive processes through which prejudice is formed, represented in the mind, expressed in behavior, and potentially reduced. In this article, we review current knowledge about the social neuroscience of prejudice regarding its influence on rapid social perception, representation in memory, emotional expression and relation to empathy, and regulation, and we discuss implications of this work for prejudice reduction interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga K Rösler
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - David M Amodio
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York.
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5
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Encoding of Race Categories by Single Neurons in the Human Brain. NEUROSCI 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/neurosci3030031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has suggested that race-specific features are automatically processed during face perception, often with out-group faces treated categorically. Functional imaging has illuminated the hemodynamic correlates of this process, with fewer studies examining single-neuron responses. In the present experiment, epilepsy patients undergoing microwire recordings in preparation for surgical treatment were shown realistic computer-generated human faces, which they classified according to the emotional expression shown. Racial categories of the stimulus faces varied independently of the emotion shown, being irrelevant to the patients’ primary task. Nevertheless, we observed race-driven changes in neural firing rates in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus. These responses were broadly distributed, with the firing rates of 28% of recorded neurons in the amygdala and 45% in the anterior cingulate cortex predicting one or more racial categories. Nearly equal proportions of neurons responded to White and Black faces (24% vs. 22% in the amygdala and 26% vs. 28% in the anterior cingulate cortex). A smaller fraction (12%) of race-responsive neurons in the hippocampus predicted only White faces. Our results imply a distributed representation of race in brain areas involved in affective judgments, decision making, and memory. They also support the hypothesis that race-specific cues are perceptually coded even when those cues are task-irrelevant.
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6
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Merritt CC, MacCormack JK, Stein AG, Lindquist KA, Muscatell KA. The neural underpinnings of intergroup social cognition: an fMRI meta-analysis. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:903-914. [PMID: 33760100 PMCID: PMC8421705 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Roughly 20 years of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have investigated the neural correlates underlying engagement in social cognition (e.g. empathy and emotion perception) about targets spanning various social categories (e.g. race and gender). Yet, findings from individual studies remain mixed. In the present quantitative functional neuroimaging meta-analysis, we summarized across 50 fMRI studies of social cognition to identify consistent differences in neural activation as a function of whether the target of social cognition was an in-group or out-group member. We investigated if such differences varied according to a specific social category (i.e. race) and specific social cognitive processes (i.e. empathy and emotion perception). We found that social cognition about in-group members was more reliably related to activity in brain regions associated with mentalizing (e.g. dorsomedial prefrontal cortex), whereas social cognition about out-group members was more reliably related to activity in regions associated with exogenous attention and salience (e.g. anterior insula). These findings replicated for studies specifically focused on the social category of race, and we further found intergroup differences in neural activation during empathy and emotion perception tasks. These results help shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition across group lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrington C Merritt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jennifer K MacCormack
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Andrea G Stein
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Kristen A Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Keely A Muscatell
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27515, USA
- Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27515, USA
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7
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Nicol AA, De France K, Gagnon M. The relation of disgust proneness/sensitivity and ageism. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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8
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von Spreckelsen P, Jonker NC, Vugteveen J, Wessel I, Glashouwer KA, de Jong PJ. Individual differences in avoiding feelings of disgust: Development and construct validity of the disgust avoidance questionnaire. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248219. [PMID: 33690707 PMCID: PMC7946286 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We developed and examined the construct validity of the Disgust Avoidance Questionnaire (DAQ) as a measure of people’s inclination to prevent experiencing disgust (disgust prevention) and to escape from the experience of disgust (disgust escape). In a stepwise item-reduction (Study 1; N = 417) using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) based on a 4-subscale distinction (behavioral prevention, cognitive prevention, behavioral escape, cognitive escape), we selected 17 items from a pool of potential items. In order to incorporate the conceptual overlap between dimensions of disgust avoidance, focus (prevention vs. escape), and strategy (behavioral avoidance vs. cognitive avoidance), we specified an adapted model. In this model, we allowed each item to load on one type of dimension and one type of strategy, resulting in four overlapping factors (prevention, escape, behavioral avoidance, cognitive avoidance). Evaluation of this overlapping 4-factor model (Study 2; N = 513) using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) showed promising model fit indices, factor loadings, factor correlations, and reliability estimates for three of the four factors (prevention, behavioral avoidance, cognitive avoidance). Those three subscales also showed good convergent validity. In contrast, the results related to the escape factor may call the suitability of self-report to assess disgust escape into question. In light of the exploratory nature of the project, future examinations of the DAQ’s validity and applicability to more diverse samples are essential. A critical next step for future research would be to examine the DAQ’s criterion validity and the distinctive roles of the DAQ subscales in (clinical) psychological constructs and processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula von Spreckelsen
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Nienke C. Jonker
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jorien Vugteveen
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Psychometrics and Statistics), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ineke Wessel
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Klaske A. Glashouwer
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Eating Disorders, Accare Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Peter J. de Jong
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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9
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Golkar Z. CRISPR: a journey of gene-editing based medicine. Genes Genomics 2020; 42:1369-1380. [PMID: 33094378 PMCID: PMC7679360 DOI: 10.1007/s13258-020-01002-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat) is one of the hallmark of biological tools, contemplated as a valid and hopeful alternatives to genome editing. Advancements in CRISPR-based technologies have empowered scientists with an editing kit that allows them to employ their knowledge for deleting, replacing and lately “Gene Surgery”, and provides unique control over genes in broad range of species, and presumably in humans. These fast-growing technologies have high strength and flexibility and are becoming an adaptable tool with implementations that are altering organism’s genome and easily used for chromatin manipulation. In addition to the popularity of CRISPR in genome engineering and modern biology, this major tool authorizes breakthrough discoveries and methodological advancements in science. As scientists are developing new types of experiments, some of the applications are raising questions about what CRISPR can enable. The results of evidence-based research strongly suggest that CRISPR is becoming a practical tool for genome-engineering and to create genetically modified eukaryotes, which is needed to establish guidelines on new regulatory concerns for scientific communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhabiz Golkar
- Division of Academic Affairs, Voorhees College, Denmark, SC, USA.
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10
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Bagnis A, Celeghin A, Diano M, Mendez CA, Spadaro G, Mosso CO, Avenanti A, Tamietto M. Functional neuroanatomy of racial categorization from visual perception: A meta-analytic study. Neuroimage 2020; 217:116939. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
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11
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Neural patterns during anticipation predict emotion regulation success for reappraisal. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:888-900. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00808-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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12
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Bagnis A, Celeghin A, Mosso CO, Tamietto M. Toward an integrative science of social vision in intergroup bias. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:318-326. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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13
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Jiankui H, Ferrell R, Yuanlin C, Jinzhou Q, Yangran C. Retracted: Draft Ethical Principles for Therapeutic Assisted Reproductive Technologies. CRISPR J 2018. [DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2018.0051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- He Jiankui
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P.R. China; Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ryan Ferrell
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P.R. China; Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chen Yuanlin
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P.R. China; Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qin Jinzhou
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P.R. China; Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Human Reproductive Medicine Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chen Yangran
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P.R. China; Third Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
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14
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Guo J, Li D, Bi Y, Chen C. Modulating Effects of Contextual Emotions on the Neural Plasticity Induced by Word Learning. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:464. [PMID: 30532700 PMCID: PMC6266032 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, numerous studies have investigated the neurocognitive mechanism of learning words in isolation or in semantic contexts. However, emotion as an important influencing factor on novel word learning has not been fully considered in the previous studies. In addition, the effects of emotion on word learning and the underlying neural mechanism have not been systematically investigated. Sixteen participants were trained to learn novel concrete or abstract words under negative, neutral, and positive contextual emotions over 3 days; then, fMRI scanning was done during the testing sessions on day 1 and day 3. We compared the brain activations in day 1 and day 3 to investigate the role of contextual emotions in learning different types of words and the corresponding neural plasticity changes. Behaviorally, the performance of the words learned in the negative context was lower than those in the neutral and positive contexts, which indicated that contextual emotions had a significant impact on novel word learning. Correspondingly, the functional plasticity changes of the right angular gyrus (AG), bilateral insula, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) induced by word learning were modulated by the contextual emotions. The insula also was sensitive to the concreteness of the learned words. More importantly, the functional plasticity changes of the left inferior frontal gyrus (left IFG) and left fusiform gyrus (left FG) were interactively influenced by the contextual emotions and concreteness, suggesting that the contextual emotional information had a discriminable effect on different types of words in the neural mechanism level. These results demonstrate that emotional information in contexts is inevitably involved in word learning. The role of contextual emotions in brain plasticity for learning is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Guo
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
- *Correspondence: Jingjing Guo
| | - Dingding Li
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yanling Bi
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Chunhui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Chunhui Chen
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15
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Molenberghs P, Louis WR. Insights From fMRI Studies Into Ingroup Bias. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1868. [PMID: 30327636 PMCID: PMC6174241 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergroup biases can manifest themselves between a wide variety of different groups such as people from different races, nations, ethnicities, political or religious beliefs, opposing sport teams or even arbitrary groups. In this review we provide a neuroscientific overview of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies that have revealed how group dynamics impact on various cognitive and emotional systems at different levels of information processing. We first describe how people can perceive the faces, words and actions of ingroup and outgroup members in a biased way. Second, we focus on how activity in brain areas involved in empathizing with the pain of others, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI), are influenced by group membership. Third, we describe how group membership influences activity in brain areas involved in mentalizing such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Fourth, we discuss the involvement of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in increased moral sensitivity for outgroup threats. Finally, we discuss how brain areas involved in the reward system such as the striatum and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), are more active when experiencing schadenfreude for outgroup harm and when rewarding ingroup (versus outgroup) members. The value of these neuroscientific insights to better understand ingroup bias are discussed, as well as limitations and future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Molenberghs
- School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Winnifred R. Louis
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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Finnell DS. A call to action: Managing the neural pathway of disgust, bias, prejudice, and discrimination that fuels stigma. Subst Abus 2018; 39:399-403. [PMID: 30901305 DOI: 10.1080/08897077.2019.1576091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Stigma has long been cited as a barrier to individuals seeking treatment for alcohol and other drug use-related problems. This paper focuses on the foundation upon which stigma sits: the brain-based, neural and structural engine of prejudice and stereotyping, processes that lead to stigma. Research findings on the neural underpinnings of disgust, prejudice, bias, and discrimination are discussed. This commentary suggests the need to promote increased awareness of the neural drivers of stigma as a basis for managing responses to persons who use substances. The commentary challenges the use of the term "stigma," calling for a new approach in lieu of foisting a badge of dishonor upon this population.
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17
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18
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Chand GB, Wu J, Qiu D, Hajjar I. Racial Differences in Insular Connectivity and Thickness and Related Cognitive Impairment in Hypertension. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:177. [PMID: 28620297 PMCID: PMC5449740 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypertensive African–Americans have a greater risk of cognitive impairment than hypertensive Caucasian–Americans. The neural basis of this increased risk is yet unknown. Neuroimaging investigations suggest that the normal neural activity comprises complex interactions between brain networks. Recent studies consistently demonstrate that the insula, part of the salience network, provides modulation effects (information flow) over the default-mode and central-executive networks in cognitively normal subjects, and argue that the modulation effect is declined in cognitive impairment. The purpose of this study is to examine the information flow at the nodes of three networks using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in cognitively impaired hypertensive individuals with the African–Americans and the Caucasian–Americans races, and to compare the thickness of impaired node between two racial groups. Granger causality methodology was used to calculate information flow between networks using resting state functional MRI data, and FreeSurfer was used to measure cortical thickness from T1-weighted structural images. We found that negative information flow of the insula in both African–Americans and Caucasian–Americans, which was in contrast with previously reported positive information flow in this region of normal individuals. Also, significantly greater negative information flow in insula was found in African–Americans than Caucasian–Americans (Wilcoxon rank sum; Z = 2.06; p < 0.05). Significantly, lower insula thickness was found in African–Americans compared with Caucasian–Americans (median = 2.797 mm vs. 2.897 mm) (Wilcoxon rank sum; Z = 2.09; p < 0.05). Finally, the insula thickness correlated with the global cognitive testing measured by Montreal cognitive assessment (Spearman’s correlation; r = 0.30; p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the insula is a potential biomarker for the racial disparity in cognitive impairment of hypertensive individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ganesh B Chand
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, AtlantaGA, United States
| | - Junjie Wu
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, AtlantaGA, United States
| | - Deqiang Qiu
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, AtlantaGA, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, AtlantaGA, United States
| | - Ihab Hajjar
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, AtlantaGA, United States.,Department of Neurology, Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, AtlantaGA, United States
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